When Solomon wrote Song of Songs, a dramatic opera about a young, poor woman who fell in love with a Shepherd king, do you think he had “the voice of the church” in his head? Do you think he was worried about what a group of people might think? Of course the evangelical church didn’t exist, then, and neither did the collective evangelical consciousness, but what I mean by that question is that if Solomon were writing today, and were writing an Opera for young kids about the ways of love, he would no doubt be attacked. My guess is the criticisms would be listed as such: 1. His opera does not mention God. Why wouldn’t he use this opportunity to bring people to God? He’s a Godless man. 2. His opera is erotic, filled with sexual imagery and even sexual instruction. It’s unfitting for any person to read, much less young couples. 3. It’s confusing. We don’t know where the acts begin. It isn’t structured. It’s amature. 4. He never mentions sex should be saved till marriage, so he must be endorsing pre-marital sex. 5. There seems to be no point to the work. If he’s trying to teach [...]
I heard a lecture recently in which the speaker talked about goals, and how powerful they are. He did say, however, that we shouldn’t share our goals, if possible. In fact, if you shared your resolution in public, you’re already at a disadvantage. When you share a goal publicly, your brain enjoys the sharing in the same way it enjoys the achievement itself, and you’ve lost some of your motivation. This surprised me, but it also made sense. Instead, he said, set some goals and write them down. Then take each of those goals and break them down into daily habits like “making a to do list every day” or “eating less than 100 grams of carbs per day” or whatever it will take. Put a deadline on those tasks that is realistic, saying you’ll do it by such and such a day, or you’ll do it for this long and then reevaluate. After that, just don’t talk about it. We are all motivated socially. We are motivated when our friends think highly of us. But this year, instead of being motivated by our friends being impressed with our goals, we can be fulfilled when we have accomplished them.
If you’re read A Million Miles, you know the story of the Goff family of San Diego, and about their New Years Day Parade. More than a decade ago, when the kids were young, the family sat around bored on New Years Day. Dad decided boredom wasn’t fitting for a day that God made, so he asked the kids for suggestions, and they decided to have a family parade down their small street. And as they notified neighbors, the family decided NOBODY could watch their parade, that people could only participate. And now the parade is huge. It’s an annual, street tradition, complete with a Grand Marshal and Queen. And nobody is allowed to watch. Nobody can sit on the curb. Everybody marches in the parade. It’s a wonderful, true story about how much better life is when we participate. If you’ve not made a resolution yet in 2011, make this one with me: I will not watch 2011, I will participate. Here’s a little video Richard Goff made celebrating this years parade (just a few days ago) and a reminder of how meaningful life can be when we get up off the curb and join in: 2011 is more [...]
